A Los Angeles, California, woman said she was battered by a man she met on Instagram during their first date last summer.
India Ali, 32, claimed she met James Baker, 27, through the social media platform and arranged a meetup last July. The pair went out to a restaurant for drinks—but Ali has no recollection of leaving with her date.
Though Baker posted videos of them driving near the Los Angeles International Airport, Ali woke up the next morning in a Westin hotel room near LAX and made a startling discovery:
“It was horrible. I woke up. I lifted my head up. I was lying in a puddle of throw up. So I look around and I see blood everywhere and my clothes everywhere.”
Ali also noticed that her phone and car keys were missing. Fearing that her life was in danger, she called 911. The 32-year-old was taken to the hospital where doctors deduced that she suffered extensive head injuries—including brain swelling.
Authorities were able to apprehend Baker a few miles away from the hotel by using the Find My iPhone application to locate Ali’s phone.
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney David Berger told the station that the 27-year-old had prior convictions outside of California and was on bail for supposedly using fake credit cards at the time of the attack.
In April, Baker was convicted of felony assault, auto theft, and use of forged credit cards. He is currently being held in jail and is awaiting a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 5.
Ali said she hopes the ordeal gives others pause when connecting with online acquaintances in person.
She concluded, “I wouldn’t want anybody to go and meet up with anybody that they don’t know. Please don’t ever do that.”
Lydia O’Brien, the victim’s mother, also hopes that Ali’s cautionary tale will spare others from what her daughter experienced.
“Everybody is posting pictures. If you eat a taco, you put it online, I guess that’s how people are meeting these days. But you have to now be aware that people are sick mentally and are just deranged,” O’Brien told the New York Daily News. “You could be hurt and even killed.”
[Featured Image: KTLA]
